Delhi is pushing for world heritage status from UNESCO

Meenakshi Kumar, TNNJun 21, 2009, 05.13am IST

Historical monuments exist in almost every Indian town but not a single Indian city can boast of world heritage status. Yet, Italy, a sliver of a country less than one-tenth the size of India, has nearly 25 'world heritage' cities. Things could change for the better. The Indian capital is trying hard for the coveted status . A recent proposal for a heritage route — from the Red Fort to Humayun's Tomb and linking some 30 monuments along the way — is part of this. But, even as we consider the possibility of India having its first world heritage city, it may be worth asking why our heritage-rich cities are not on Unesco's at least 200-strong list?

Heritage conservation experts say a major roadblock all these years has been the refusal to see cities as part of our heritage. Monuments have always been at the centre of conservation efforts but cities — the repositories of tangible and intangible heritage — have never been considered in this way. Therefore, cities such as Agra, Varanasi, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Vrindavan and Mathura remain chaotic cultural dead zones.

A G K Menon, convenor of the Delhi chapter of the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (Intach) laments "the total lack of will and respect for our heritage. And to top it, rampant corruption makes it impossible to get anything done" . Menon drove Intach to prepare the heritage route proposal.

Heritage can be better highlighted if the different aspects of city-upkeep — planning , conservation, development and history — are dealt with together. At present, each is looked at separately with hardly any interaction between those handling each issue. Conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah says, "We don't see urban planners in dialogue with archaelogists or conservation experts.

There is no larger city plan, like it is in Rome." The Italian capital has preserved its historic city centre and maintained all the other monuments scattered around. This is how, says Menon, Rome has built a "heritage-oriented cognitive image" .

For Delhi to get world heritage status from Unesco, the Central government would have to prove it is serious about protecting historical monuments and demonstrate the steps it has taken to preserve them. Also, it has to prove that Delhi is of universal significance. "It is a tough fight as only one site can apply for the inscription once in two years. And with so many countries vying for the status, the government has to have a strong case," says Sandhya Bordewekar, founder-trustee of Heritage Trust, a NGO that is battling to preserve our heritage.

The fact that the government has never asked Unesco to list an Indian city as "world heritage" indicates our lack of seriousness about heritage. "We have never received any proposal," says a Unesco official.

Hard though it may be to acquire heritage city status, it is harder still to maintain it. Unesco is clear that once a city gets the status, the integrity and authenticity of the place has to be maintained. Lambah says, "If the government doesn't follow Unesco guidelines, the city may lose its status or be put on the endangered list."

The 'world heritage' tag brings with it access to funds, international technical expertise on preservation and better management , and most importantly, an increase in tourist numbers. A 'world heritage ' city is listed as such with tour operators . Cambodia is a good example. Its GDP is heavily reliant on heritage tourism. Across the world, heritage tourism is growing and heritage cities like Italy, Spain, the UK and France have benefitted.

Were Delhi to get world heritage status, tourists would be less likely to use it as a stopover. "Tourists would then want to spend a few days exploring all the historical sites. Imagine what that would do to the economy of the city," says Menon.

SOME OF WHAT IT TAKES

To get on Unesco's list, a city must:

Represent a masterpiece of human creative genius Exhibit an interchange of human values over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design Bear testimony to a cultural tradition or a civilization that is living or has disappeared Have association with events or living traditions, ideas or beliefs, artistic and literary works of universal significance Protect and manage the authenticity and integrity of properties.